Comments on Black Dog Hates Skunks: Beans and Meat. Cook For A Long Time. Eat.

Yeah Marc I noticed that about a lot of the old pu...

2008-11-29T07:30:00.000-05:00

Yeah Marc I noticed that about a lot of the old pubs we visited in London. As you said, some were left as is, like those two, others were ruined.

Thanks for the invite, if I get over there I will surely take you up on it.

Village pubs can be brilliant. One of the best th...

2008-11-29T06:12:00.000-05:00

Village pubs can be brilliant. One of the best things about hiking/biking here in the UK is that there is almost always a nice little village pub to stop in for lunch and a pint. Not sure if you made it over to Oxford when you were in the Cotswalds, but it's definitely worth a visit. It's a beautiful town. There's also a pub there called the Eagle and Child, where CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien used to go drinking together every week. One night they got really liquored up and wrote a letter to the barman saying that the Eagle and Child is the best pub in the world, signed by everyone in their drinking party. The letter is now framed and mounted on the wall.

I've not been to York, but that doesn't surprise me. Most pubs here are owned by large corporations (both the Dog and Duck and Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese are for example). Some restore the old pubs and use that as a selling point. Others gut the insides and turn them into the same kind of bland, soulless place you can find anywhere. It's a real shame.

If you do make it over here, let me know. I'm here for a few more years anyways, so I'd be happy to show you around.

I can't remember any of those off the top of my he...

2008-11-28T08:25:00.000-05:00

I can't remember any of those off the top of my head Marc. I had a list of them in mind but we didn't hit as many on my list as I would have liked.

We did not get out to the East End at all. I'm intrigued.

My other trip to England was for work but we got out into the Derbyshire Dales for an evening (my boss is from Gloucester) and stopped in an old village pub, five hundred years old or so. And then on the weekend I got away to York and saw some beauties there too. Although the oldest pub in York (something Star I think?) was a huge disappointment. It was like walking into a TGIFs at Tampa Airport.

But when we were in London we went cycling in the Cotswalds for a day and hit a couple old village pubs then too.

One of my favourite things to do.

My wife is talking about London a little bit lately so maybe I can convince her to make a return trip in a year or so.

Those are both great pubs. A friend of mine used ...

2008-11-28T03:28:00.000-05:00

Those are both great pubs. A friend of mine used to manage the Dog and Duck. You've probably been the a lot of the good ones in that area then (The Blackfriar, The Olde Bank of England, The Seven Stars, the Mitre and the Lamb being the can't miss ones in my opinion).

The best old pubs are in the East End though, right on the river. In particular the Prospect of Whitby in Shadwell, the Gun on the Isle of Dogs and the Trafalgar in Greenwich. There's nothing better than sitting in a pub that's 400 or 500 years old with a pint of Adnams or Timothy Taylor Landlord Bitter and watching the boats go by.

marc - someday, though I may be dragging three kid...

2008-11-27T21:29:00.000-05:00

marc - someday, though I may be dragging three kids with me ;)

when we were in London we hit quite a few, the ones I remember most fondly - The Duck and Dog and Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese

I like the historical ones best of all.

When I was in Dublin in February I hit over a dozen pubs in the city centre, all of them over a century old. Great stuff.

Well next time you're in town I'll give you a tour...

2008-11-27T15:41:00.000-05:00

Well next time you're in town I'll give you a tour of London's finest and you may be forced to admit that London has the best pubs anywhere.

I could even tailor it to your particular interests. Only pubs that are more than 400 years old for example. Pubs where writers used to drink. Architectural gems. Never having to walk more than 500m to the next good one. The choice is yours....

One of the best meals I ever had in my life hands ...

2008-11-27T05:05:00.000-05:00

One of the best meals I ever had in my life hands down was in Paris. In a tiny, jam packed bistro whos walls were literally lined with thousands of full wine bottles.

No one spoke English except this mad looking French skinhead cook who came out of the kitchen and was laughing hysterically at everything we said.

Finally the food came...3 potatoes, sausage, and a vegetable. That's it. And it was one of the best meals I've ever had. For 20 euros a head. That's real French cooking. Simple, understated and to the point. Like hot french girls, now that I think of it, lol.

While I'm on topic of the French I also noticed that France's winning soccer team in their World Cup Final winning game seriously looked pattern wise like the Montreal Canadiens hockey team, but soccer. Counterattack, killer defence, and a seriously cool attack when it counted, all with a great great goalie. It amazed me to think that French people no matter where they come from have the same approach to these two games.

You have to wonder what Brazil or Germany would be like if only they were any good at hockey.

It's hardly surprising that MacT doesn't like French players. If MacT's food preferences were put into hockey players, it would be the A+W that my parents used to take me to on 7th avenue.

Marc - coolest one I have been to, not that I have...

2008-11-26T19:43:00.000-05:00

Marc - coolest one I have been to, not that I have been to a million of them, but I would say London would be number one for me; Dublin is pretty damn close though, just a different type of city altogether

I've seen enough pubs in each to say the Dublin ones win though. So far.

Nothing is like London though. My God, what a place.

dg - bacon and butter? Two of my favourites. Perogies are up there too though.

namflashback - good comp - of course the difference for fans is Pouliot's pedigree makes them mental

showerhead - thank you sir, I appreciate it

French food has too much cholesterol for me. Cooki...

2008-11-26T18:48:00.000-05:00

French food has too much cholesterol for me. Cooking bacon with butter just doesn't do for me. Being an established Perogy-maker, I have to gravitate towards Ukranian cooking. It's simple, it's flavourful and uses local ingredients. That and the vodka that accompanies every table.

I've been to France, back when I was in elementary and wasn't all that impressed. It's a dirty country and doesn't seem to care much about being that way. The art and such however, can take your breath away. The thing I remember most is driving the highway between France and Belgium in a POS Volkswagon Westvalia eating baguette with cream cheese watching all the Audis and BMWs zooming past.

Come to London. Coolest city in the world. I can...

2008-11-26T18:12:00.000-05:00

Come to London. Coolest city in the world. I can promise an epic pub crawl.

To me he looks much like Horcoff did when he start...

2008-11-26T16:56:00.000-05:00

To me he looks much like Horcoff did when he started. Up and down the lineup. Played in all three forward positions. Played with all sorts of different teammates (from MacIntyre to Cogs and Cole).

Did what he was supposed to. Low risk, play the system. He'd get spot duty higher up, and even if he played well, was put right back down on the 4 line. Less icetime than the nine usual suspects. I think the 20 GP were MacTavish saying, "I know you have the 1-way contract -- so you are assured a job, but I want to see you live up to the - play any role I ask you to" requirement of being a MacT center. Cassouliot has traditionally started slow, so maybe MacT wanted to make sure that he was past that stage. I hope he doesn't just give us a taste, but a whole tasty helping.

BTW, speaking of LA in town -- saw Dustin Brown absolutely hammer Regehr with a perfect and clean hit. Seriously winded Regehr. I fear a little for our defensemen tonight.

Just wanted to say I am past the point of casual a...

2008-11-26T15:52:00.000-05:00

Just wanted to say I am past the point of casual admiration and that moment of "oh wow, that's how he ties it to the Oilers!"

I have now entered the somewhat uncomfortably zealous area of "thank God there is such a blog as Black Dog Hates Skunks, burn the infidels!"

Really, I'm actually quite worried ;)

Good one George.As I said though he was rated high...

2008-11-26T14:27:00.000-05:00

Good one George.

As I said though he was rated highly by everyone, not just the Oilers. Believe me I wish they would have come up with any of the other long list of options available now that we see where these guys have ended up.

But it wasn't a reach pick at all at the time.

Its pretty shit though considering we're still hoping he develops into a serviceable pick while the Ducks have two guys picked after him (is that right?) near the top of the league in scoring.

Sometimes you hit. Sometimes you miss. This miss hurts a lot.

I am for a player slowly developing that was inten...

2008-11-26T14:19:00.000-05:00

I am for a player slowly developing that was intended for development. This was a terrible pick with plenty of better options.

If I see the Oilers PR come out with "Worked hard on a terrible team..." I am going to woof my cassoulet.

oh an what an analogy I feel I should dress to com...

2008-11-26T11:39:00.000-05:00

oh an what an analogy I feel I should dress to comment. Not much of a fan of French cuisine. I do enjoy a good curry... where balance of hot and cold is key. To me anyway.. very untrained palate. Although my tip anyone is avoid grits at all costs that stuff will kill ya.

I am down for a player slowly developing. The rush is on though